Light rosé flavors intermingle with cherries, wild strawberries, a bit of simple syrup, and a bloom of citrus-laden tart hops which spread across the mid-palate. Vague wild "cat piss" notes emerge as well, but they actually work here.

Not that I have a bottle open next to it, but any resemblance to the base beer (Salvation) seems to have vanished...

Medium-light bodied, a bit slick but still moderately carbonated.

I may need to re-visit this one in the bottle, as (with the exception of their IPAs) I usually prefer RR in that modality...

Picked up a bottle at a Portland co-op, because that's the sort of town Portland is. Anyways, I split the bottle with a couple friends and was worried the sour and funky flavors, but they actually mild compared to some of the guezes I've tried. Instead of being a big, beat you over the head sour beer, the tang compliments the fruit, estery yeast, and mellow dark malts. I should also say that for 10%, this is as drinkable as any good beer is going to be.

375ml bottle poured into my New Belgium glassAn "extra" from walows, thanks man, been wanting to try this one for a while

This is my first RR sour. Been fortunate to try Pliny and Damnation and, not that they need my approval, have come away impressed.

Pours deep raisin with a touch of ruby. A 1 cm head quickly comes and goes and leaves no trace.

You can smell the acidity that awaits, not much hint of fruit and instead a healthy dose of barnyard

tart, like a cherry with all of the sugar removed. You can tell there has been fruit there, but I couldn't have told you currants. Very enjoyable overall but I have been on a major sour kick

nice mouthfeel and not overly carbonated. I could drink this one again; RR is more of a pain to get and I have a supplication, temptation, and sanctification waiting in the wings. It will be interesting to compare this "more commonly" available RR sour to a couple that tend to be a little more hard to get (especially to me)

S - Dark fruits (plum and cherry) mixed with a strong oak characteristic. Very earthy, with a hint of alcohol coming through as well.

T - A complex flavor of black cherries and grapes immediately hit, followed by a mild sourness and tartness. Very sweet and fruity. Hints of oak and other earthy spices come out on the backend. The sourness tends to linger on the tongue.

M - Medium bodied, with a prickly, mild carbonation. Finishes dry.

D - I'm new to sours and this was the first one that I actually enjoyed. It has a wonderful array of flavors backed by a nice sour funkiness. The high alcohol content is hardly noticeable, making this a very drinkable brew. The taste seems to only get better as it warms. Overall, an excellent offering from Russian River and so far, my favorite sour.

Look: Pours a darker shade of brown with some red highlights 1/8 inch head and not much retention with some spotty lace

Smell: Dark fruits some tartness and oak

Taste: I was expecting this to be much more tart and sour but I think the age has done wonders for this beer. It is has some delicious sour berries with the black currant especially coming through some nice tart and sour sting with a bit of funk

Thanks to TCHopCraver (the supplier of this rare treat), BuckyFresh, and zoso1967 for the tasting party that included this brew. 8/21/10

The pour is a dark reddish hue mixed with a good deal of brown. The head appeared brownish then faded to white. Agitating this beer will manually create more head. When swirling the glass, splotchy bubbles gather across the glass and collect in mild lacing.

The oak-aging is immediately apparent in the aroma, although I initially mistook it as bourbon barrel-aged due to a perceived faint smokiness. It's quite amazing how 'freshly-cut' the oak character comes across. Soft sour cherry is the next most discernible smell, followed by perhaps some vanilla custard.

Having been weaned mostly on (and recalling best) Monk's and Duchesse (and, yeah, through the years I've randomly had other various lambics/sours/wilds), the sour grip on the tongue with this was revelatory, though I'd like to believe not the most potent out there. In fact, it 'grips' tightest through the first few sips and, once accustomed to it, it's wonderful.

In addition to the somewhat sharp sourness in the flavor, there's a dry cherry, or maybe even raspberry, fruitiness - but not much. The oak comes out more mellow than in the aroma. And, why and from what, I don't know, I'm tasting bourbon - mostly up front - but it fades by the finish, which is vaguely reminiscent of champagne. Vaguely.

Definitely a complex, interesting beer. Wish it came out this way more often.

Batch 005x2F. Thanks to Arbitrator for the bottle and to angrybabboon for sharing it.

Appearance: Pours a relatively clear garnet with some deeper brown hues. Head is off-white and drops to a small bubbly collar in short order. Minimal carbonation. Deep reds.

Smell: Big hit of wine. Cabernet jumps and drops a big grape/wine punch. That distinct Russian River level of lactic sour. Some nice leather and dark cherry as well. Mild citric backing. Some vinegar as well. Oak and a big floral hit. Almost chocolatey at times. Some underlying malty sweetness.

Taste: Massive oak. Sherry, Cabernet, and some cider vinegar. Acetic with a nice level of citric and lactic sour. Mild funkiness builds as the beer warms. Some nice grass and some caramel sweetness mild chocolate is masked by a bigger punch of leather and dark fruit. Tart cherry. Oak. Woody with a mild dampness. Tart.

Pours brown, no head from the slow pour. Bubbles like rootbeer or champagne.

Smells like red wine, not so much on the funk, but it's there, has some fruitiness.

Taste is of tart wine from start to finish, plenty of grape from the barrel. Finished like wine in the aftertaste.

Feels very light and champagny. Bubbly on the tongue.

Overall, I still don't know if I would call this beer. Definitely more focused than the Supplication, but not as complex. While I really liked this concoction, I won't be seeking either out. Then again, I wouldn't turn it down either.

Was able to try this at the brewery. Poured dark rosey amber. Very sour but I preferred supplication. There's a little bit more of booze In the taste with a more malty finish.. Makes your mouth pucker though. This brewery sure knows what it's doing with sours.

Poured a dark brown with ruby highlights that had a half finger head and very little lacing left on the glass. I love beers that have a nose like this one which consisted of oak funk, wine vinous characters, acidic sour notes, apples, and currants. You can definitely tell its gonna have some sour tartness. Sour vinegar currants strike first on the palate with oaky traits from the barrel, citric lemons, and cherry accents; nice sourness. The beer was medium body with a good amount of carbonation with a sweet sour and dry finish. It drank very well and is very tasty but for some reason everytime I drink a consecration I get a hangover. I guess I have overlooked the 10ABV and I always seem to drink a 750ml bottle to the neck..

A: Cherry coloration with a very thin lacing of head. The beer is actively moving in the glass; a geyser rises from the middle and and turbulates the beer. Light legs.

N: Sour cherry, currant, powerful acids. Very vinous, plenty of wine grapes, and the oak is noticeable. Light blackberry. New leather and some funkiness.

T: Wow, lots of currants. There's a pleasant sour pie cherry in the background, and the oak and acids are moderated well. Some tangerine /lemon zest. I do get some light tobacco/leather flavors. Grapes and a little bit of raisin. Has a lot in common with the cabernet sauvignon barrel.

M: Light and very, very well carbonated. I am getting a surprising amount of alcohol, though.

O: A sterling beer that I've passed over too many times to count. While off chasing the newest sour from around the block, Consecration beckons us back to its sublime, balanced fruitiness. Delicious.

375ml bottle. It's from Batch 005X2E. Poured this one into my Lost Abbry tulip.

A: Pours a fairly clear amber color. Basically no head. There was a good pop on the cork. But not a lot of carbonation. Lacing is non existent. You do catch some little alcohol feet.

S: I am getting the customary Flemish Red type smells off this one, but the complexity is amped with some of those vinous notes from the red wine barrel. I get some tart dark cherries and vinegar notes as well.

T: It's a more mild tart on the tip of the tongue. Then you get that tart dark cherry flavor that I have come to love. It's very smooth, and mellowed by the oak barrels I would assume. You do pull some of that leather and wood that red wine would add as well. You can't taste the 10% at all, as I thought that was a little high for the style. it's completely masked.

M: This is a lighter, medium mouthfeel for me. It's very drinkable and pleasant.